in his mosque and greet him with peace during prayer. They would likewise greet him with peace when entering and leaving the mosque, without needing to go to the honoured grave or turn towards it and raise their voices in greeting, as some pilgrims do.

Rather, this is an innovation that no scholar has recommended. Indeed, the scholars disapproved of raising one’s voice in his mosque. When ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb—may Allah be pleased with him—saw two men raising their voices in his mosque and recognized that they were not local residents, he said:

“Did you not know that voices must not be raised in the mosque of the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace? Had you been residents of this city, I would have given you a painful beating.”

He excused them on account of their ignorance and did not punish them.

When the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—died, he was buried in the chamber of ʿĀʾishah—may Allah be pleased with her. Her chamber and those of his other wives stood to the east and on the qiblah side of the mosque; none of them was within the mosque itself. This remained the case until the era of the Companions in Medina had come to an end.

Then, during the caliphate of al-Walīd ibn ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwān, about a year after the pledge of allegiance to him, the mosque was expanded and the chamber was incorporated into it out of necessity. Al-Walīd wrote to his governor, ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, instructing him to purchase the chambers from their owners, the heirs of the Prophet’s wives—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—for all his wives had by then died, may Allah be pleased with them. He instructed him to purchase the chambers and add them to the mosque. He therefore demolished them and incorporated their sites into the mosque, while ʿĀʾishah’s chamber remained as it was. It was kept locked, and no one was allowed to enter to reach the grave of the Prophet